We know Square has the CGI Team of Justice - it likes to show off its cutscenes more than the games themselves, usually. But what will Final Fantasy XIII actually look like on our current-gen super consoles?
Finally, here are some proper in-game screenshots, complete with a HUD and everything. Although they're scans from Famitsu, the scanner did a pretty good job of getting some high-quality rips.
The shots were clearly taken from a turn-based battle against some seemingly epic beasties, and yes, it still looks awesome.
We just hope Square can get the game out before the end of the year (however unlikely that may seem) - it's currently only dated a vague "2009" for Japan. TBA everywhere else.
Screens are on the right, full-page scans are over on FinalFantasy-XII.
These shots have been floating around for a while looking good hope the rest of the game will be up to the standard of the visuals. I do love my JRPG's.
looking forward to the PS3 version. Its a pity this is like FF12 where the battles are more action orientated like an MMORPG that the turn based fights in FF10 which were awesome
So I take it that these screenshots are from the PS3 version?
Could be or from the PC as I think they all go through PC programming at some some stage so they get it running on that 1st I assume (and we all know what assumption is the mother of)
Here's looking forward to the PC to 360 conversion going smoothly as it always does and the PS3 version turning into a stuttering mess 6 months behind the 360 version. Multiple discs is hardly a problem unless your a $ony fanboy with a disability to change a disc every 30 hours or so.
erm, actually square are focusing on the ps3 for this game. they are programming and developing the game on ps3 first and foremost, and the 360 version will be a port of that
Of course I know that. It's being written on pc's and transfered onto the consoles. Square obviously say that PS3 is a priority to sedate the rabid fanboys and keep everyone happy.
With the better graphics capability on the 360 the only thing that could ruin it is sloppy programming and Square won't want to do that to the biggest market for FF XIII now will it.
This is balls. Japanese version isn't ready and the english version is usually a year later. Looks like a few of us will have grey hairs by the time this farce comes out.
looks every bit as awesome as the early preview videos showed. God I can't wait for this game.
Though I do wish it was returning to the traditional turn-based combat system. Its far more tactical and better thought out than the attack-mashing of FF12.
My guess is that it won't be as good as people are expecting. Square are stretching their development of the game to the limit - what with all the translations they will have to do and two versions of the same game. Square have never had to do this before and I reckon that it will take its toll....
I'm thinking of boycotting it (No, I'm not a 'betrayal' whingebag.) on the basis that Square are going to finish the PS3 game, and have it sitting ready, while they work on the 360 version. I disagree with it. If the game is finished, get it out there.....360 players are more patient than people think and I'm sure they can wait for the Summer. Before this multiplatform nonsense, we were talking Feb 2009.....now we're talking *Shrug of the shoulders* 'I dunno!'
Not good enough. FFXII was a massive disappointment and all these delays are beginning to wear my patience thin. Remember when they said it'd originally be penned for end of 2008? Yeah, those were good times.....
I agree with the above poster too. The FF dev teams are stretched to capacity making two different games with minimal experience in making games for both consoles, they've already broken timescale so we can tell it's not going easy.
I'm thinking of boycotting it (No, I'm not a 'betrayal' whingebag.) on the basis that Square are going to finish the PS3 game, and have it sitting ready, while they work on the 360 version. I disagree with it. If the game is finished, get it out there.....360 players are more patient than people think and I'm sure they can wait for the Summer. Before this multiplatform nonsense, we were talking Feb 2009.....now we're talking *Shrug of the shoulders* 'I dunno!'
Not good enough. FFXII was a massive disappointment and all these delays are beginning to wear my patience thin. Remember when they said it'd originally be penned for end of 2008? Yeah, those were good times.....
What are you babbling on about? Delays? I don't remember Square-Enix giving any concrete release date. Anybody who knows even the slightest thing about the Final Fantasy franchise knows that the games are done when they're done. The last few FF games have taken about 4 years to make. FFXII was started not long after X was released, and that came out around 5 years later - I expect the same thing with XIII.
Oh, and FFXII was great, and had a much needed change in direction to the battle system.
If that's what you think.....you don't seem to be able to understand however that other people may have a different opinion. I've been a hardcore FF fan since 6, and that 'Much needed change of direction' removed most of the pacing and poise to a storyline that started excellent, and lost it's shine midway through and never came back up.
FF12 was made to be one big grind, much the same as FFXI which is an MMO very much in the Korean mindset- party up, grind, sell loot, repeat. FFXII was constant level grind, after level grind- full of massive dungeons that had no real depth and were saved only by the beautiful, never bettered on PS2 graphics. The music was the worst in any FF game apart from 11, which had music more as background than anything else- use of music is usually a crucial point to Final Fantasy games and how they tell their stories, but this game didn't have that. I'm not saying it needed a 'One Winged Angel,' 'The Extreme' or 'Aeris Theme' to work- all it needed was consistency. Lost Odyssey by contrast showed what Square are missing right now- Uematsu's eye and ear for the right song for the right place.
The story seemed to draw a disproportionate amount of ideas from Star Wars, and that's a problem in itself to be honest. Again, having played the game well over 100+ hours and doing almost all of the sub missions and near endless grind quests, it's how I feel about the game. You don't need to agree, but you do need to respect that that's how it is as far as I'm concerned.
Also, while it wasn't concrete, they were the dates that were tentatively released. FFXIII was originally showed off back when the PS3 was first coming onto the market and '2008' was the ballpark. Before the 360 got rights to have the game also, end of 2008 early 2009 were the dates constantly talked about, not just speculated, but by the company as well. After the 360 announcement, THAT is when talk of dates of release became guarded, tentative and always fully vague. We were made aware that the PS3 game would be finished first, and THEN they'd make the X-360 version which seems like a good plan were it not for the fact that the finished PS3 version will then be sitting for as long as it takes them to port it to 360. (Interesting to see how a PS3 to X-360 port works, as all we've really seen in terms of major games previously are 360 ports to PS3.)
I respect your opinion about FFXII, and if that's how you feel about it, then fair play. But with the release dates, Square-Enix have never officially announced any such release dates. When have they ever with Final Fantasy until more or less the last minute? You may have seen dates from various sources, but I doubt very much any of them were from official Square sources.
Anyway, so what if they delay the release of the PS3 version so they can start work on the 360 version? Doesn't bother me in the slightest. I'd prefer Square-Enix release a quality game on both platforms, instead of rushing either of them. If that means I have to wait 6-12 months longer, then so be it. There are plenty of other games to play in the mean time.
FFXIII is being released in Japan on the PS3 only, as I write this anyway, and a simultaneous release on both platforms in the west awhile down the line. We would have to wait like we always do regardless, due to localisation, etc.
If that's what you think.....you don't seem to be able to understand however that other people may have a different opinion. I've been a hardcore FF fan since 6, and that 'Much needed change of direction' removed most of the pacing and poise to a storyline that started excellent, and lost it's shine midway through and never came back up.
have to agree with you there,the revelation that balthier was cid's son and an ex judge seemed to be the peak of the story.
why the hell are people talking about a pc version of this? obviously 11 was on the pc as it was more of a MMO, but apart from 7 and 8 there hasnt been a proper single player FF on pc for like a decade!!
Yeah XII was a huge dissapointment to me, and the thing is, it had so much potential, I liked that it was trying something different with the combat, and the direction of the plot, was interesting, something more political, and more restrained in it's fantasy elements, but after a while the plot just disseapeared, and there was just two minute cutscenes spread between about 4 hours of endless, repetitive battles, just endless, endless grinding. Every time I approached a boss battle, I assumed I'd be at a high enough level, because I did a bit of grinding in advance, but no, it would turn out I was too weak and I realised I was going to have to run back and fourth through the levels, over and over again, fighting enemies, over and over and over and over, back and fourth, back and fourth, back and fourth, until I was ready.
By the latter stages of the game, I got so sick of this happening, I did a weeks solid grinding, and found the final bosses too easy, I did it on my first go, despite not really preparing properly.
I swear, the time it would take you to get one level up was the equivalent to about 5 in previous FF games.
I still have some hopes for XIII, but I'm not expecting much.
Cheers for the spoiler. I was actually in the process of going back to the game and was trying to finish it off (finally) so thank you very much for destroying that bit of plot for me.
The way Square are doing it is that they are completing the PS3 version, and then porting it over- they're not working side by side on this title. The PS3 game will be sitting in storage in it's finalised form while the 360 version is being made, and there's where my objection to the release date lies. If they have it finished, why not put it out there- at least in Japan, which isn't getting a 360 version ANYWAY.
The release ballparks I heard were from interviews with senior staff and development leads in Squeenix, as well as other sources. No, nothing official was said, but then again, official release dates aren't infallable either.
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW England and Wales company registration number 2008885